State-run enterprises in Assam have spent altogether Rs 18.88 crore in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities in the last five years.

According to statistics, excluding oil companies, other state enterprises like APL, AGCL, DNP Limited, and AIDC have cumulatively spent the amount starting from 2017-2022.

The data on CSR activities of the oil marketing companies were not available to the state since their records are maintained by the Corporate Affairs Ministry.

Northeast India has been the most neglected region when it comes to corporate social responsibility. However, the tide is turning.

CSR spending in the northeastern region has witnessed a sharp spike over the past five years, with corporate houses and public sector enterprises giving more importance to northeastern states in their CSR planning and budget.

According to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), four northeastern states recorded a jump of 200 per cent in CSR funding between 2014-15 to 2018-19. Assam is the biggest beneficiary in the region.

The state of Assam had only 59 companies undertaking CSR activities in the year 2014-15. The number more than doubled, with a total of 124 companies participating in CSR activities in the state in the financial year 2018-19, according to the MCA.

The state gets almost 72 per cent of the total funding pie coming from the Northeast region.

"We are listing out the large corporations that have been successfully implementing CSR activities in Assam over the years," stated MCA.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has taken up a mega CSR initiative towards addressing the health care concerns of people in the Northeast by setting up a Multi-Speciality Hospital in Sivasagar, Assam. Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Vaidakiya Pratisthan, Aurangabad is the Construction Management Operating Partner of the hospital. The hospital has 300 beds and treats one lakh patients a year.

Other companies such as HDFC are doing CSR activities through its umbrella project Parivartan.

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